Research into the history of Football in Falkirk district : mainly concentrating on the the period up to 1945 I like to dig through the newspapers from the days of yore to find little vignettes that were rarely included in the published histories.
From the ugly side to the downright obscure, just don't expect me to write about anything too obvious ....

Wednesday, 29 June 2016

The first Scottish Cup match played by a team from Falkirk District, in fact from Stirlingshire, was played in Edinburgh of all places. I believe that back then the early rounds of the Scottish Cup were regionalised, so the fact that Grasshoppers were in the Edinburghshire group shows the lack of football in Central Scotland.

The match itself was probably played on the Meadows [or perhaps Bruntsfield Links], and was the first match of the season for the Grasshoppers. They lost. It was their only competetive game. The teams had a strange relationship with competitions back then.

From the Falkirk Herald Thursday 5th October 1876.

ST ANDREWS v GRASSHOPPERS

These two clubs opened their seasons on Saturday by engaging in an Association Cup tie. The Grasshoppers, who hail from Bonnybridge, took the defensive first, and the Edinburgh team kicked off with the wind favouring. The visitors, although looking heavier than their opponents, were well pressed, and the play was pretty often in their quarters. In the second three-quarters, when ends had been changed , the forwards, whose strength was somewhat increased by an influx of members from the defunct Heart of Mid-Lothian got well in, and T.Purdie kicked a goal. This, although the play still went on, practically decided the tie. Teams:- St Andrews - Messrs R.Winton, goal; G.Purdie and D.Grosset, backs; R.Purdie and R.Rolly, half-backs; D.Ross, D.Brunton, T.Purdie, J.Cochrane, G.Mitchell and J.Alexander, forwards. Grasshoppers - Messrs T.Ure, goal; A.Lapsley and J.King, backs; J.Paterson and W.Anderson, half-backs; T.Smith, H.Macfie, W.Crombie, W.Forester, J.Mitchell and J.Clarke, forwards.